Review of Very Bad Things (1998) by Timothy S — 22 Mar 2012

Some actors make the jump to directing with a whimper, but Peter Berg has made the transition with a vengeance. His first feature, "Very Bad Things", suggests that he was always meant to be a behind the scenes player and that acting should have been a secondary career choice.This is a wicked, vicious cautionary tale, a comedy that is so black it's opaque.

The whole thing plays as a ferocious screwball comedy, but at times it works just as easily as a thriller mostly because there are moments here that are so tense that laughing is the farthest thing from your mind. Witness the wonderful scene in which Jeanne Tripplehorn threatens to call the police if she's not given an explanation for a note left by her recently deceased husband. It's a great moment.

Watching Berg's tight screenplay spiral stunningly out of control is only half the fun, however, as Christian Slater gives one of the best performances of his career. He's essentially playing an adult version of J.D., his character from "Heathers", and it's a lot of fun watching him take the movie even farther over the top. Also fun is Cameron Diaz, whose wedding-obsessed fiance isn't left out of the fray. It's a stock character, but in this film, nothing is ordinary or as it seems. Diaz sees the fun to be had with her character and she runs with it, and the same could be said about the entire cast. Everyone is game.

The film is definitely not for all tastes, and the very dark humor will be lost on some who will refuse to see this as anything but reprehensible and vile. If you ask me, that's all part of the charm that is "Very Bad Things". It's a skillfully made comedy masquerading as a horror film, and if you're in on the joke, you're going to have a great time.